176 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



during the process of germination. That the pentosans in 

 the matured plants and seeds form a part of the cell walls 

 and are dissolved during germination is quite clear from 

 the numerous microscopic investigations made by Professor 

 Cramer * and Dr. Pfister f in connection with Schulze's 

 work. 



Concerning the value of the pentosans as a source of food 

 for animals, the results of two investigations have been pub- 

 lished. Stone I fed corn meal and bran to rabbits, and found 

 that alx)ut 60 per cent, of the pentosans were digested. A 

 like conclusion was drawn by Stone and Jones, § as a result 

 of the examination of the food and faeces of sheep fed upon 

 the hay of different grasses. Ebstein || has also shown that 

 both xylose and arabinose are but little assimilated by human 

 beings, these sugars being recognized in the urine a few 

 hours after being eaten. 



During the spring and autumn of 1893 the writer made 

 digestion experiments with hay, corn cobs, brewers' grains 

 and several concentrated fodder articles. These results have 

 already been published. T[ We have thought it of gutficient 

 interest to determine the amount of pentosans in each of the 

 foods fed and in the faeces excreted, and thus note their 

 degree of digestil)ility.** 



The method employed for determining the furfurol, and 

 consequently the pentosans, was the one described by Flint 

 and Tollens,f f being a modification of the method originally 

 introduced by de Chalmot and Tollens.|| 



Pentosans differ from true carbohydrates in yielding fur- 

 furol instead of laivulinic acid when boiled with hydrochloric 



* Zeitschr. physiol. Cliem., 14, 227 



t Zejtsclir. physiol. Cheiii., 19, 44. ' 



X Am. Chem. Jour., 14, 9. 



^ Agrictiltural Science, 5, 6. 



II Arcliiv. pathol. Anat., 129, 401. 



IT Massachusetts State Experiment Station, Eleventh Annual Report, 1893. 

 ** While it is possible to estimate the amount of furfurol in the fceces with a fair 

 degree of accuracy, it must be admitted that it is by no means certain that this fur- 

 furol is a true indicator of the amount of pentosans present; i.e., it has not as yet 

 laeen sliown whether the pentosan molecule remains entirely intact during the diges- 

 tive process. From our present knowledge it must be assumed that such is the case. 



tt E. 11. Flint, Inaugural Dissertation, Gottingen, 1892 ; Landw. Vers. Stat., 4i8, 

 398. 



XX Inaugural Dissertation, Gottingen, 1891. 



